Abstract

The paper will examine the use of eco-design tools within the Korean electronics industry, with particular reference to mobile phone design & manufacture.
Economic growth in Korea has been driven by aggressively exporting products, primarily to the US & China. Industries - such as semiconductor fabrication & electronic products - have been at the forefront of this export strategy.
With impending environmental legislation threatening many of Korea’s global export markets, this study represents a timely appraisal of the industry’s ability to respond.
The paper goes on to consider the extent to which eco-design tools are implemented within the Korean electronics industry, & which are most appropriate in environmental and business perspective. Whilst a simple question, this demands a non-trivial set of answers, each step posing significant problems. This is conditional on both the relevant environmental protocol for each market region, & the development of a means of cross-comparing what are very different metrics of environmental damage.
In resolving this, the paper adopts Eco (or Fussler’s) Compass as a graphical representation, & uses this to evaluate the impact of a range of concepts, developed using each of the identified design tools, & based on Lifecycle Analysis (LCA- environmental quantitative evaluations method).
The paper concludes by presenting cross comparing in environmental effectiveness against business and major international environmental legislations, ranking each of the tools against eco-benefit, relevance to a particular region/market & cost to the organisation, the latter being measured in times of: current capability; required investment in process; requisite developments in technology (R&D investment &/or licensing); & anticipated problems in cultural adaptation.